basic-groove
31-05-2009, 12:53
It’s historic! It’s magical! It’s Le Mans!
http://img.turbo.fr/02027728-photo-affiche-24-heures-du-mans-2009.jpg
The 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans will be the 77th Grand Prix of Endurance, taking place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, and organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). It will take place over June 13–14, 2009 and will be started by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo at 15:00 local time (13:00 UTC). A test day was initially planned for May 31 that year, but was cancelled by the ACO due to economic concerns.
http://media.nextautos.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/lemans2008hl.jpg
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the worlds oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance, it is organised by the ACO and runs on a circuit containing closed public roads that are meant not only to test a car and driver's ability to be quick, but also to last over a 24 hour period.
http://image.motortrend.com/f/motorsports/live-le-mans-coverage-night-moves/6472218+w600+cr1+re0+ar1/the-night-air-is-the-only-thing-still-at-le-mans.jpg
The race field has usually consisted of approximately 50 competitors. Each car is required to have no fewer than two seats, although in recent years only the ability to place a seat in the cockpit has been understood but not enforced. No more than two doors are allowed; open cockpit cars do not require doors.
Although all cars compete at the same time, there are separate classes. An overall winner is awarded at the end of the event, while class prizes are given as well.
Classes have varied over the years, but currently there are four. Custom-built Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) are the top two classes, LMP1 and LMP2, divided by speed, weight, and power output. The next two classes are production-based grand tourer (GT) classes, also divided by speed, weight, and power output as GT1 and GT2. Although the top class is the most likely winner of the event, lower classes have won on occasion due to better reliability.
http://image.automotive.com/f/multimedia/photo_gallery/10053876+pheader/0806_01_z+2008_24_hours_of_le_mans_race+audi_motor sports.jpg
The dark side of LeMans
http://chbastin.free.fr/dossiers/1955_accident/1955_accident_4_tl.jpg
With the high speeds associated with Le Mans, the track has seen a number of accidents, some of which have been fatal to drivers and spectators. The worst moment in Le Mans history was during the 1955 race in which more than 80 spectators and driver Pierre Levegh were killed. In the shock following this disaster, many major and minor races were cancelled in 1955, such as the Grand Prix races in Germany and Switzerland, the latter banning motorsport throughout the entire country. This accident brought wide sweeping safety regulations to all motorsports series, for both driver and spectator protection. In 1986 Jo Gartner drove a Porsche 962C and crashed into the barriers on the Mulsanne straight, killing him instantly. His accident was the most recent fatality in the race itself, however there was a fatality in 1997 during the practices.
http://www.autocult.com.au/img/gallery/nickop187.jpg
In one of the most recognizable recent accidents, calamity would once again strike Mercedes-Benz, although without fatality. The Mercedes-Benz CLRs which competed in 1999 would suffer from aerodynamic instabilities that caused the cars to become airborne in the right conditions. After initially happening at the Le Mans test day, Mercedes claimed they had solved the problem, only to have it occur again at Warm Up hours before the race. Mark Webber was the unlucky driver to flip the car on both occasions. The final and most damaging accident occurred during the race itself when Peter Dumbrecks CLR became airborne and then proceeded to fly over the safety fencing, landing in the woods several metres away. No drivers were badly hurt in any of the three accidents, but Mercedes-Benz quickly withdrew their remaining entry and ended their entire sportscar program.
Circuit de la Sarthe
The circuit on which the 24 Hours of Le Mans is run is named the Circuit de la Sarthe (Circuit of the Sarthe), after the Sarthe department that Le Mans is within. It consists of both permanent track and public roads that are temporarily closed for the race. Since 1923 the track has been extensively modified, mostly for safety reasons, and currently is 13.65 km in length.
http://theperpetualspiral.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/lmtrack.png
Although it initially entered the town of Le Mans, the track was cut short in order to better protect spectators. This led to the creation of the Dunlop Curve and Tertre Rouge corners before rejoining the old circuit on the Mulsanne. Another major change was on the Mulsanne itself, when the FIA decreed that it would no longer sanction any circuit which had a straight longer than 2 km. This led to the addition of two chicanes, slowing the high speeds that cars had been capable of reaching on the old five km long straight.
Entry List of the 77th 24 Hours of Le Mans 2009
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/7673/myp2pentrylist1.jpg
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/165/myp2pentrylist2.jpg
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/8778/myp2pentrylist3.jpg
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/7388/myp2pentrylist4.jpg
Event & TV Schedule of the 77th 24 Hours of Le Mans 2009
Wednesday 10th June
18:00 CET till 24:00 CET - Free practice for the Le Mans 24 Hours
18:00 CET (L) - Sportzone (http://www.sportzone.tk) & shadowsports (http://shadowsports.110mb.com/)
18:00 CET (L) - Eurosport France 2 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=5c220ceb4a736d5979cb6b0f8de37ab8)
19:15 CET (L) - Eurosport France 2 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=5c220ceb4a736d5979cb6b0f8de37ab8)
Thursday 11st June
19:00 CET till 21:00 CET - Qualifying practice for the Le Mans 24 Hours
22:00 CET till 24:00 CET - Qualifying practice for the Le Mans 24 Hours
19:00 CET (L) - Sportzone (http://www.sportzone.tk) & shadowsports (http://shadowsports.110mb.com/)
19:00 CET (L) - Eurosport France 2 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=5c220ceb4a736d5979cb6b0f8de37ab8)
22:00 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
Friday 12nd June
18:00 CET till 19:00 CET - Drivers Parade in the centre of Le Mans
21:30 CET till 23:30 CET - '71 Steve McQueen's Le Mans (Movie) - Sportzone (http://www.sportzone.tk)
Saturday 13rd June
09:00 CET till 09:45 CET - Warm-up
13:15 CET till 13:45 CET - Herringbone line-up
15:00 CET - Start of the 77th Le Mans 24 Hours
15:00 CET - Corvette Multimedia Centre - corvettems (http://www.justin.tv/corvettems) & corvettems1 (http://www.justin.tv/corvettems1) & corvettemotorsport (http://www.justin.tv/corvettemotorsport) & corvetteracing (http://www.justin.tv/corvetteracing)
15:00 CET - Sportzone (http://www.sportzone.tk) & Watch Mainpage (http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=41437&part=sports) & mordane3 (http://www.justin.tv/mordane3) & tomcio6 (http://www.justin.tv/tomcio6) & yaahman (http://www.justin.tv/yaahman)
08:30 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
09:45 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
13:45 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
14:30 CET (L) - Speed Channel - ********* (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/*********)
15:30 CET (L) - Eurosport France 2 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=5c220ceb4a736d5979cb6b0f8de37ab8)
17:10 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
18:00 CET (L) - Speed Channel Livestream (http://stream.speedtv.com/24-hours-of-le-mans/)
17:55 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
19:00 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
20:30 CET (L) - Eurosport France 2 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=5c220ceb4a736d5979cb6b0f8de37ab8)
21:55 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
22:30 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
22:30 CET (L) - Speed Channel - ********* (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/*********)
Sunday 14th June
15:00 CET- Finish of the 77th Le Mans 24 Hours
00:00 CET (L) - Sportzone (http://www.sportzone.tk/) & Watch Mainpage (http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=41437&part=sports) & mordane3 (http://www.justin.tv/mordane3) & tomcio6 (http://www.justin.tv/tomcio6) & yaahman (http://www.justin.tv/yaahman) & tvcosmo (http://www.justin.tv/tvcosmo) & liveprod (http://www.justin.tv/liveprod) & ekatesportshd (http://www.justin.tv/ekatesportshd)
03:00 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
04:00 CET (L) - Speed Channel Livestream (http://stream.speedtv.com/24-hours-of-le-mans/)
06:00 CET (L) - Speed Channel - ********* (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/*********)
11:00 CET (L) - Eurosport France 2 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=5c220ceb4a736d5979cb6b0f8de37ab8)
12:10 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
13:15 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
http://s02.flagcounter.com/count/5Ev8/bg=FFFFFF/txt=000000/border=CCCCCC/columns=7/maxflags=70/viewers=MyP2P+Motorsport+Fans+all+over+the+World.. ./labels=1/ (http://s02.flagcounter.com/more/5Ev8)
Text Source: wikipedia.org
Picture Source: around the web.
http://img.turbo.fr/02027728-photo-affiche-24-heures-du-mans-2009.jpg
The 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans will be the 77th Grand Prix of Endurance, taking place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, and organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). It will take place over June 13–14, 2009 and will be started by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo at 15:00 local time (13:00 UTC). A test day was initially planned for May 31 that year, but was cancelled by the ACO due to economic concerns.
http://media.nextautos.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/lemans2008hl.jpg
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the worlds oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance, it is organised by the ACO and runs on a circuit containing closed public roads that are meant not only to test a car and driver's ability to be quick, but also to last over a 24 hour period.
http://image.motortrend.com/f/motorsports/live-le-mans-coverage-night-moves/6472218+w600+cr1+re0+ar1/the-night-air-is-the-only-thing-still-at-le-mans.jpg
The race field has usually consisted of approximately 50 competitors. Each car is required to have no fewer than two seats, although in recent years only the ability to place a seat in the cockpit has been understood but not enforced. No more than two doors are allowed; open cockpit cars do not require doors.
Although all cars compete at the same time, there are separate classes. An overall winner is awarded at the end of the event, while class prizes are given as well.
Classes have varied over the years, but currently there are four. Custom-built Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) are the top two classes, LMP1 and LMP2, divided by speed, weight, and power output. The next two classes are production-based grand tourer (GT) classes, also divided by speed, weight, and power output as GT1 and GT2. Although the top class is the most likely winner of the event, lower classes have won on occasion due to better reliability.
http://image.automotive.com/f/multimedia/photo_gallery/10053876+pheader/0806_01_z+2008_24_hours_of_le_mans_race+audi_motor sports.jpg
The dark side of LeMans
http://chbastin.free.fr/dossiers/1955_accident/1955_accident_4_tl.jpg
With the high speeds associated with Le Mans, the track has seen a number of accidents, some of which have been fatal to drivers and spectators. The worst moment in Le Mans history was during the 1955 race in which more than 80 spectators and driver Pierre Levegh were killed. In the shock following this disaster, many major and minor races were cancelled in 1955, such as the Grand Prix races in Germany and Switzerland, the latter banning motorsport throughout the entire country. This accident brought wide sweeping safety regulations to all motorsports series, for both driver and spectator protection. In 1986 Jo Gartner drove a Porsche 962C and crashed into the barriers on the Mulsanne straight, killing him instantly. His accident was the most recent fatality in the race itself, however there was a fatality in 1997 during the practices.
http://www.autocult.com.au/img/gallery/nickop187.jpg
In one of the most recognizable recent accidents, calamity would once again strike Mercedes-Benz, although without fatality. The Mercedes-Benz CLRs which competed in 1999 would suffer from aerodynamic instabilities that caused the cars to become airborne in the right conditions. After initially happening at the Le Mans test day, Mercedes claimed they had solved the problem, only to have it occur again at Warm Up hours before the race. Mark Webber was the unlucky driver to flip the car on both occasions. The final and most damaging accident occurred during the race itself when Peter Dumbrecks CLR became airborne and then proceeded to fly over the safety fencing, landing in the woods several metres away. No drivers were badly hurt in any of the three accidents, but Mercedes-Benz quickly withdrew their remaining entry and ended their entire sportscar program.
Circuit de la Sarthe
The circuit on which the 24 Hours of Le Mans is run is named the Circuit de la Sarthe (Circuit of the Sarthe), after the Sarthe department that Le Mans is within. It consists of both permanent track and public roads that are temporarily closed for the race. Since 1923 the track has been extensively modified, mostly for safety reasons, and currently is 13.65 km in length.
http://theperpetualspiral.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/lmtrack.png
Although it initially entered the town of Le Mans, the track was cut short in order to better protect spectators. This led to the creation of the Dunlop Curve and Tertre Rouge corners before rejoining the old circuit on the Mulsanne. Another major change was on the Mulsanne itself, when the FIA decreed that it would no longer sanction any circuit which had a straight longer than 2 km. This led to the addition of two chicanes, slowing the high speeds that cars had been capable of reaching on the old five km long straight.
Entry List of the 77th 24 Hours of Le Mans 2009
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/7673/myp2pentrylist1.jpg
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/165/myp2pentrylist2.jpg
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/8778/myp2pentrylist3.jpg
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/7388/myp2pentrylist4.jpg
Event & TV Schedule of the 77th 24 Hours of Le Mans 2009
Wednesday 10th June
18:00 CET till 24:00 CET - Free practice for the Le Mans 24 Hours
18:00 CET (L) - Sportzone (http://www.sportzone.tk) & shadowsports (http://shadowsports.110mb.com/)
18:00 CET (L) - Eurosport France 2 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=5c220ceb4a736d5979cb6b0f8de37ab8)
19:15 CET (L) - Eurosport France 2 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=5c220ceb4a736d5979cb6b0f8de37ab8)
Thursday 11st June
19:00 CET till 21:00 CET - Qualifying practice for the Le Mans 24 Hours
22:00 CET till 24:00 CET - Qualifying practice for the Le Mans 24 Hours
19:00 CET (L) - Sportzone (http://www.sportzone.tk) & shadowsports (http://shadowsports.110mb.com/)
19:00 CET (L) - Eurosport France 2 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=5c220ceb4a736d5979cb6b0f8de37ab8)
22:00 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
Friday 12nd June
18:00 CET till 19:00 CET - Drivers Parade in the centre of Le Mans
21:30 CET till 23:30 CET - '71 Steve McQueen's Le Mans (Movie) - Sportzone (http://www.sportzone.tk)
Saturday 13rd June
09:00 CET till 09:45 CET - Warm-up
13:15 CET till 13:45 CET - Herringbone line-up
15:00 CET - Start of the 77th Le Mans 24 Hours
15:00 CET - Corvette Multimedia Centre - corvettems (http://www.justin.tv/corvettems) & corvettems1 (http://www.justin.tv/corvettems1) & corvettemotorsport (http://www.justin.tv/corvettemotorsport) & corvetteracing (http://www.justin.tv/corvetteracing)
15:00 CET - Sportzone (http://www.sportzone.tk) & Watch Mainpage (http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=41437&part=sports) & mordane3 (http://www.justin.tv/mordane3) & tomcio6 (http://www.justin.tv/tomcio6) & yaahman (http://www.justin.tv/yaahman)
08:30 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
09:45 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
13:45 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
14:30 CET (L) - Speed Channel - ********* (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/*********)
15:30 CET (L) - Eurosport France 2 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=5c220ceb4a736d5979cb6b0f8de37ab8)
17:10 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
18:00 CET (L) - Speed Channel Livestream (http://stream.speedtv.com/24-hours-of-le-mans/)
17:55 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
19:00 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
20:30 CET (L) - Eurosport France 2 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=5c220ceb4a736d5979cb6b0f8de37ab8)
21:55 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
22:30 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
22:30 CET (L) - Speed Channel - ********* (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/*********)
Sunday 14th June
15:00 CET- Finish of the 77th Le Mans 24 Hours
00:00 CET (L) - Sportzone (http://www.sportzone.tk/) & Watch Mainpage (http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=41437&part=sports) & mordane3 (http://www.justin.tv/mordane3) & tomcio6 (http://www.justin.tv/tomcio6) & yaahman (http://www.justin.tv/yaahman) & tvcosmo (http://www.justin.tv/tvcosmo) & liveprod (http://www.justin.tv/liveprod) & ekatesportshd (http://www.justin.tv/ekatesportshd)
03:00 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
04:00 CET (L) - Speed Channel Livestream (http://stream.speedtv.com/24-hours-of-le-mans/)
06:00 CET (L) - Speed Channel - ********* (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/*********)
11:00 CET (L) - Eurosport France 2 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=5c220ceb4a736d5979cb6b0f8de37ab8)
12:10 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
13:15 CET (L) - Eurosport France 1 (tvants://list.tvants.com/tvants/?k=651b94a323ce5d6222eb4615e0d5b4ae)
http://s02.flagcounter.com/count/5Ev8/bg=FFFFFF/txt=000000/border=CCCCCC/columns=7/maxflags=70/viewers=MyP2P+Motorsport+Fans+all+over+the+World.. ./labels=1/ (http://s02.flagcounter.com/more/5Ev8)
Text Source: wikipedia.org
Picture Source: around the web.